Played on 3/17 at 8:30 am. Course is in excellent shape and mud reported by other reviewers was not an issue. Rough is quite heavy in some area, lost two balls in the long, shaggy stuff. Sand traps... Continue »

Played on 3/17 at 8:30 am. Course is in excellent shape and mud reported by other reviewers was not an issue. Rough is quite heavy in some area, lost two balls in the long, shaggy stuff. Sand traps were inconsistent; some were OK, others were hard and shallow. Many greens were micro-punched and sanded but still rolled true. Tee boxes were all well maintained.

You will walk a lot on this course, even with a cart. Several holes are cart path only and many of the fairways and greens are bowl-shaped, requiring a walk down from the cart and back up. Others require a decent walk from cart path to tee. My pedometer logged 4 miles and I'll bet a quarter of that was uphill. Not complaining, just sayin' you need to be aware.

Finished round in 4.5 hours. Very nice facility, wish I could afford to play here more often.

Played Tuesday, 17th, at around 8:00 a.m., on a $79 SCGA coupon. The pro shop was very accommodating, I called at 7:00 am to find out if they had anything that day or the next, and I was on the cours... Continue »

Played Tuesday, 17th, at around 8:00 a.m., on a $79 SCGA coupon. The pro shop was very accommodating, I called at 7:00 am to find out if they had anything that day or the next, and I was on the course in a little over an hour. Another guy stole my spot (lack of communication between pro shop and starter plus unmitigated gall by other guy) but the starter got me out in the next group and it turned out for the best as I played with a great group of regulars. It was pretty crowded but we got around in about 4:15. We waited quite a bit on shots but the overall pace was fine.

I had not played the course in at least 15 years and I remembered little of it. I played from the gold, around 6500 yards, but I thought the course played shorter. I am not sure why tee shots rolled out considering there was little to no bounce or roll on iron shots. You hit in front of the green, the ball stayed in front of the green. I definitely got roll on most drives though. The Bermuda fairways made a nice hitting surface. There were two types of rough - the majority was an inch or less but there were areas where the grass was different, much longer and finding a ball was not easy. I tried to hit a mid iron out of one area and ended up barely advancing the ball. If I had some course knowledge, I would have taken those areas into consideration in hitting my drives.

The sand was inconsistent. I was in one greenside bunker and it was very nice. Soft but allowing a nice explosion shot. Fairway bunkers, of which there were many, tended to be hard in some places (to where I left no footprint) and soft in others. Another time, I hit a bunker in front of a green and the ball bounced out on to the lip about five or six feet high. I could not see the mark it made where it hit and it definitely bounced rather than rolled. So that greenside bunker was extremely firm.

Some of the greens were micro-punched. I did not notice much if any sand on those greens. The punching had some effect (on a couple of greens the ball bounced on the way to the hole) but most of those greens rolled well. The other greens were good, if not as fast as they looked. The speed was only medium. Maybe because it was Tuesday? Possibly because of the recent heat? In any event, the greens were also very soft. I got some bounce from long irons, but anything from 6I down was going to end up where it landed. In fixing the divots, I had to be careful not to rip the grass out. The tee boxes were a little shaggy too I thought. They were level though and I always was able to find a nice grassy area without divots.

I had a good time. I doubt I would pay the rack rate but it was an enjoyable round and both the conditions and service were above the norm (nice touch - an attendant rode on the back of my cart out to the car, loaded my clubs and took the cart back). I thought it was a good deal at the rate I got.

Played on Wed 2/18 with 9am tee time. Pace of play was OK at around 4:30.

Driving range was large but pretty busy and difficult to find a decent grassy lie. Range balls are ridiculously overpri... Continue »

Played on Wed 2/18 with 9am tee time. Pace of play was OK at around 4:30.

Driving range was large but pretty busy and difficult to find a decent grassy lie. Range balls are ridiculously overpriced at $17 for a large bag. The balls were kind of hit or miss, with about 1/3 good balls, 1/3 mediocre, and 1/3 that should have been taken out of play long ago.

Tees are very shaggy, with long grass. It felt like one was teeing it way too low even with a long tee barely poking into soil. There were a lot of over-watered areas around the tee boxes; some were quite muddy between the cart and tee box.

Fairways are mostly good. A bit thin in spots, but few bare patches.

Greens were pretty good although it looked like they'd be recently punched with a small tine aeration tool, and the sand top dressing occasionally came into play. They were mostly smooth with occasional bumpiness. Ball mark damage wasn't too bad, although I usually fixed 3-4 unfixed marks on every green.

Bunkers were poor. Fairway bunkers had a gravel-like sand that barely covered a hard packed clay/mud foundation. Greenside bunkers had better sand but not by much, and it was very inconsistent.

Overall, the layout is OK but nothing special and has few memorable holes. All the holes have a bowl shape to the fairways (higher on each side than the middle), and that makes it seem repetitive. If one scores a good deal from UnderPar or SCGA, I'd say Oak Creek is an OK value (except for the very pricey driving range). At rack rates, it is a definite "skip".

Played Oak Creek @ 0720 Sat Oct 4th. The course was in generally good condition with some large bare spots on a few holes. The par 5 hole #10 was particularly bad with a huge dirt patch 20 yards to th... Continue »

Played Oak Creek @ 0720 Sat Oct 4th. The course was in generally good condition with some large bare spots on a few holes. The par 5 hole #10 was particularly bad with a huge dirt patch 20 yards to the right of the green. POP was good-4 hrs. The bunkers were hit and miss-some had good sand, others hardpan. Customer service was good-including the cart girl.

I got the player's rate of $125. Was it worth it? Not really. With the Goose, Eagle Glen, Oak Quarry, and Trilogy you will get much better value for your greens fee dollar.

Tee's: 8/10
Fairways: 8.5/10
Greens: 6.5/10
Rough: 6/10
POP: 4:30
Bunkers: 4/10 (Hardpan)
Layout: 8/10

First time playing Oak Creek and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. We had a golf... Continue »

Tee's: 8/10
Fairways: 8.5/10
Greens: 6.5/10
Rough: 6/10
POP: 4:30
Bunkers: 4/10 (Hardpan)
Layout: 8/10

First time playing Oak Creek and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. We had a golfnow time at 2:30 for $55, which turns out is a great rate for this course. Other than the bunkers, the course wss great shape. The greens were a little slow, but otherwise good. I absolutely love the layout of the course; Tom Fazio did a great job with this piece of property. This is definitely a course where you have to put yourself into position. If you find yourself out of position, you can definitely make a big number. I would recommend this course but not at the rack rates. The most I think this course is worth is probably around $75 range.

Had a 6:50 tee time this morning as a single. Rack rate was $135 but I had the Costco voucher that was sold last year, so that was nice. Was set up with a threesome and we teed off on time, sent off N... Continue »

Had a 6:50 tee time this morning as a single. Rack rate was $135 but I had the Costco voucher that was sold last year, so that was nice. Was set up with a threesome and we teed off on time, sent off No. 10 instead of No. 1. This was my first time ever playing this course, and I have to agree with the previous review about what a secluded feel it has. I really liked that.

Visually, the course isn't in pristine shape, but playing-wise, it's pretty close. Tee boxes were perfect all day. Fairways ideal, too. The rough was good. The greens rolled smoothly but visually they seem to have lots of nicks in them here and there. It never affected any of my putts, but it somewhat detracts from the beauty of the course. I was in three bunkers: the first was terrible, hard, packed and crusty. The next two weren't bad at all.

This is probably true for all courses, but this course looked so much better once the sun came out today. Holes 10-17 were played under dreary skies, and then on the beautiful 18th the clouds parted and the course became a lot more appealing to me. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this course. Would love to return again but I doubt I'll ever plunk down full price to play here.

Played Oak Creek on Sat 6/7 at noon. Perfect weather in Irvine. What i like the most about this course is that you feel like you are playing a secluded course far from a city. You don't see a house... Continue »

Played Oak Creek on Sat 6/7 at noon. Perfect weather in Irvine. What i like the most about this course is that you feel like you are playing a secluded course far from a city. You don't see a house or building from the course. The service is good and POP was ~ 4:20, not bad for Sat afternoon.
The course conditions were ok. Fairway and rough were good, tee boxes were ok with some unfilled divot marks. Greens were ok but on the mid to slow side. I didn't like the sand - the greenside bunkers i went in were generally hard and felt thin and hard when hitting shots.
Overall, it was good experience. I used the Costco Live Discount deal that I bought ($140 for round at Oak Creek AND a round at Strawberry) - so it cost me $75 to play this course. This is good course but with rack rate of $175 I think is overpriced (well, like most courses in Irvine area).

Playtime: Played around 12:30pm on a Sunday. Clear and Sunny - perfect So Cal weather. Finished in about 5 hrs and 15 mins. Carts on path for about 8-9 of the holes which might have slowed down play.
... Continue »

Playtime: Played around 12:30pm on a Sunday. Clear and Sunny - perfect So Cal weather. Finished in about 5 hrs and 15 mins. Carts on path for about 8-9 of the holes which might have slowed down play.

Fairways: Fairways were brown (typical during winter time for most courses I believe). For the most part, the fairway was thin to lush. Roughs were tough in some areas.

Teebox: Tee boxes were nice and well maintained. No issues here.

Greens: Greens were very bumpy. Green was soft (We did tee off later in the day, so that's probably why it was bumpy). A lot of bird poop on some greens that made it difficult to putt.

In summary, I think this course is over priced for the quality. I expected the greens to be nice and smooth, but they weren't. However, they lay-out of the course was great and the course is beautiful. They only problem is the greens.

Played here on 10/16 for the first time. The facilities are fabulous...practice areas, pro shop and restaurant are all top notch. The menu at the restaurant was like a 5 star bistro. On to the course,... Continue »

Played here on 10/16 for the first time. The facilities are fabulous...practice areas, pro shop and restaurant are all top notch. The menu at the restaurant was like a 5 star bistro. On to the course, tee boxes were so long and shaggy, you needed a 5 inch tee to get your ball off the grass. I found the fairways to be in pretty good condition, but the sides weren't rough, they were all wet dirt in serious ned of seed. Some bunkers were rock hard, while others(#12) was like the Brea Tar Pits. As a whole, I really enjoyed the layout and design of the course, but not the greens. The greens are very large and undulated...and on our day, it seemed every hole location was on a bump. If you missed a putt by 1-2 feet, your ball would end up 30 feet away...not very fun. I just don't understand how the O.C. golfers are okay with paying $130 weekday and $170 on the weekends for this course. Take a drive to Oak Quarry, Goose Creek or Eagle Glen and play a better golf course for a fraction of the cost. One more example of O.C. golf arrogance and over charging for their product.